Lincoln Cent Key Dates & Varieties
The longest-running US design and the series that hooks most collectors. A handful of key dates and a few famous doubled dies are where the value, and the fun, live.
Bottom Line: A Wheat-cent date set (1909-1958) is one of the great beginner projects, most dates cost cents. The 1909-S VDB, 1914-D, 1922 No-D, and the 1955 Doubled Die are the four that define the series.
The key dates
| Date | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| 1909-S VDB | The famous key, only 484,000 struck before the designer's initials were pulled. Full story. |
| 1914-D | A genuine low-mintage Denver key, heavily counterfeited, buy it graded. |
| 1909-S (no VDB) | First-year San Francisco issue; scarcer than its mintage suggests. |
| 1931-S | Depression-era low mintage; an affordable semi-key. |
| 1924-D, 1926-S | Better dates that get expensive in higher grades. |
The famous varieties
1955 Doubled Die Obverse
A prominent doubled-die variety with visible doubling on the date and lettering. Verify attribution and current grade-specific records directly.
1922 "No D"
All 1922 cents were struck at Denver, but a worn die produced coins with no visible mintmark, a recognized, valuable variety (insist on the "strong reverse" die pairing).
1969-S & 1972 Doubled Dies
Later doubled-die cents that command strong premiums, proof the series keeps producing collectible varieties.
Browse Lincoln cents
See the Lincoln cents in our catalog with current graded listings across the major marketplaces.
View the Lincoln series →Storage & handling
Copper is the most reactive metal in the case. Keep cents in inert Saflips or Air-Tite capsules (never PVC), and a Dansco album is the classic way to chase the dates, red color is fragile, so store them dry. See our collector gear guide →
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A low-mintage first-year Lincoln cent associated with the controversy over designer Victor David Brenner’s initials. Learn what to verify before buying.
10 min readCoins to explore
All coins →
1909-S Lincoln Cent VDB
1¢ · Classic · Victor D. Brenner
1914-D Lincoln Cent
1¢ · Classic · Victor D. Brenner
1955 Lincoln Cent Doubled Die Obverse
1¢ · Classic · Victor D. Brenner